Pacific Beach Surf Club (with club president Ron Greene, in red jacket) met up with first responders in December at PB Fire Station No. 21 to provide unwrapped toys from surf club members for the Toys for Tots drive. In addition, the surf club’s board worked some magic to also present a $1,000 check (held by club secretary John ‘Brando’ Brandelius) to Ashley Iverson, the five-month pregnant widow of Cory Iverson, and their 2-year-old daughter. Cory Iverson was a San Diego firefighter who died while fighting the Thomas Fire in Ventura. The community was devastated to hear of this horrible tragedy and felt compelled to do something for Ashley.

The PB Planning Group (PBPG) is now accepting applications for new members. The group, which advises the city of San Diego, is comprised of 20 community volunteers – 15 residential and five commercial seats. Many new plans for the beach area, including the trolly extension, the redevelopment of the De Anza area, and traffic improvements for PB are presented and voted on each month. If you'd like to add your views and help shape the future of PB, then consider running for election.

Candidates must be residents or own a business or property in Pacific Beach. New member elections will take place on March 28. All candidates must attend at least one PBPG meeting during the period of January 2016 through January 2017. You can attend the Jan. 24 meeting to qualify for election. The PBPG meets every fourth Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., in the Pacific Beach Library, 4275 Cass St.

For more information about the planning group, visit www.pbplanning.org. For details on the election, call PBPG election chair Steve Pruett at 330-472-9320.

Two men stabbed in Mission Beach

There was a group of people by a fire pit on the beach in Mission Beach about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 6 near 2600 Mission Blvd. Six to 12 Hispanic male suspects ran up to the group and started a fight.

A 58-year-old male victim was stabbed in the hand, right thigh and had a broken nose. A 38-year-old male was stabbed in the abdomen, right hand and left calf. Someone from the group at the fire pit took both victims to the hospital.

The injuries to the victims are non life threatening. The suspects were described as wearing white tank tops and jean shorts. There were no further descriptions. San Diego Police Northern Division Detectives are investigating.

Anyone with information related to the above incident is encouraged to call the listed command handling the investigation or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Hearing scheduled for couple charged in PB home invasion

A judge has re-scheduled a preliminary hearing for March 5 for two people who are charged with committing a home-invasion robbery in Pacific Beach and stealing a police patrol vehicle that went into Mission Bay from Fiesta Island.

The preliminary hearing for James Lee Graham, 40, and Stephanie Nicole Majsterski, 25, was to have been heard Jan. 3, but a San Diego Superior Court judge delayed it to Dec. 29 at the request of attorneys in the case.

They are accused of residential burglary, false imprisonment and robbery of a woman on Pacific Beach Drive on Dec. 14. Graham was arrested afterwards, but Majsterski escaped by driving off in a San Diego Police patrol car.

She drove it to Fiesta Island and it somehow got into Mission Bay. She is charged with auto theft and resisting an officer.

They pleaded not guilty to all charges Dec. 19 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Charles Gill, who ordered $600,000 bail for Graham and $300,000 bail for Majsterski. Both remain in jail.

Graham was convicted of 10 counts of robbery in 2008 and served a prison term. If he's convicted in this case, he could face a long "three strikes" sentence in prison of multiple life terms.

– Neal Putnam

Boy fondled in Mission Beach

Investigators from the San Diego Police Department’s Child Abuse Unit are asking for assistance from the public in an effort to identify additional victims from a Belmont Park Arcade.

On Dec. 30, at approximately 2:50 p.m., Daniel Tauro, 67, allegedly inappropriately touched a 10-year-old male inside the Belmont Park Arcade while the child was playing arcade games. The arcade is located in the 3100 block of Mission Boulevard.

Tauro was detained by security guards and later arrested by San Diego police for various felony charges.

Tauro was wearing a green and yellow checkered shirt over a wine colored sweater, cut-off knee- length jean shorts, and white tennis shoes and a light blue baseball cap. Tauro was at the arcade on Dec. 30 between 2:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Anyone who may have information regarding this case, or if you believe you were a victim, call SDPD’s Child Abuse Unit at 619-531-2260.

Iron Pig Alehouse bans straws

Iron Pig Alehouse, a BBQ and craft beer joint in Pacific Beach, has stopped serving beverages with plastic straws in an effort to be more environmentally conscious. A recent study found that Americans use and toss around 500 million plastic straws every day, which equals around 12 million pounds of plastic waste over the course of one year. The resulting plastic waste ultimately ends up in landfills, rivers, lakes and oceans.

“By only offering paper straws upon request, we are hoping to reduce Iron Pig’s plastic waste and make a step toward changing our trash habits and awareness for the betterment of our community,” said Ryan Woldt, manager of Iron Pig Alehouse.

New laws for California drivers

Among them is a ban on marijuana use in vehicles for both the driver and any passengers. This law makes smoking or ingesting marijuana or marijuana products while driving or riding as a passenger in a vehicle illegal, even if one of you has a medical marijuana card.

Other new vehicle-related laws in California include:

Passengers must wear seat belts on buses equipped with the safety restraints.

Drivers of vehicles for hire such as public transportation, private passenger transportation such as cabs, Uber-, Lyft-type companies are held to a higher standard for sobriety than individual drivers. It will be unlawful for these drivers to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 percent.

The DMV will require applicants of Disabled Person parking placards and plates to provide proof of full name and birthdate and will limit the number of replacement placards.

To learn more about the other changes for drivers in California, visit the Department of Motor Vehicles website.

Hepatitis A emergency winding down

The County Board of Supervisors extended the local public health emergency for hepatitis A again on Tuesday, but efforts are now underway to transition out of the emergency amid declining case numbers.

Public Health officials told the board that they were assuring all new processes and procedures were being put in place to end the emergency declaration that was declared in September.

The board is required to review the need for continuing the emergency every 14 days.

Six new cases were reported in the last two weeks, bringing the total number of cases in the outbreak to 577, resulting in 396 hospitalizations and 20 deaths.

From May to September, 2017 there were an average of 84 cases reported each month. In November, that number dropped to 21 and in December declined further to seven cases.

Hepatitis A is most commonly spread from person to person through the fecal-oral route. Symptoms of hepatitis A include jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, and light-colored stools. Symptoms usually appear over a number of days and last less than two months. However, some people can be ill for as long as six months. Hepatitis A can sometimes cause liver failure and even death.

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